Comic-Con 2013: 'The Following' Panel

‘The Following’ may have garnered a mixed reception in its inaugural season, but when the Kevin Bacon serial-killer drama returns for season 2 in 2014, you can bet Ryan will be up against his greatest foe once more. Despite his apparent death, James Purefoy will return as Joe Carroll for ‘The Following’ season 2, but what else did the creators and stars reveal from the Ballroom 20 panel at Comic-Con 2013?

Purefoy’s appearances was a surprise for the fans, as the actor hadn’t initially been advertised to be part of the panel, but was summoned mid-session by Kevin Bacon himself to appear. The move to return the character was certainly a surprise as well, considering we last saw Joe Carroll blown to bits, with his remains fairly well identified as the genuine article. Oh well. Science!

Those who weren’t on board with Joe’s Edgar Allen Poe-centric killings might be in for an interesting shakeup as well, as Joe “may need to re-imagine who he is as a man and a killer. That Edgar Allen Poe stuff didn’t work out so well, so he’s going to have to figure out a new way.” Plus, did someone say flashbacks?

Elsewhere, we learned that ‘The Following’ season 2 will pick up with something of a time jump, moving forward a full year after the finale. We know Claire (Natalie Zea) will return for at least the 2014 premiere, but hopefully the time jump won’t simply cut away from our last image of Claire apparently dying of a stab wound, even if Natalie only appears in the premiere. The new footage we saw certainly didn’t raise our hopes.

Additionally, executive producers Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega revealed that season 2 would feature less FBI-centric storylines, even as it explores the relationship fallout of the first season. Valorie Curry’s disciple character Emma will need to adjust to life without her serial killer mentor, while Ryan and Mike (Shawn Ashmore) will have some serious issues to work out following their traumatic actions as partners this past season.

Well, what say you? Are you interested to see what ‘The Following’ deduces for season 2, now that Joe Carroll will be back in action?